Twenty-Three
Quinn
“I love you so much, sweetie! Be good for Auntie Sky!” I wave through the phone, and my daughter waves back.
“Okay, Mommy! Love you too! See you soon! Bye!”
With one last kiss to the screen, Kinsley hits the end button, and her adorable face disappears. I drop my phone on the bed with a sigh. Lachlan’s only been gone for a few hours, but I really wish he was already back. I imagine my need to be near him isn’t healthy, but I don’t really care all that much. Especially when he’s out having a good time at the bachelor party Declan is throwing for the groom, Steven. He said tonight was perfect since Emily insisted they sleep apart the night before the wedding. She’s here, along with all the other women, including Shea. I tried to hang out with everyone downstairs. I didn’t want to be that person. The one who seems stuck up because she doesn’t socialize, but when Shea droned on and on about all the fun times she, Declan, Lachlan, and Riley used to have, I excused myself to call my daughter. Now I’m dying of thirst and my stomach is growling, and the last thing I want to do is go down there, but it’s going to have to happen.
Tiptoeing out the door of our room, I quietly glide down the stairs. I inhale a deep breath when I hear voices and deduce they’re coming from the family room—the room just past the dining room and kitchen. When I get to the kitchen, I peek in, and once I see it’s empty, I scurry over to the fridge to find something to eat and drink. The sound of women laughing and chattering rings through the house, but I ignore it as I quickly cut up some strawberries and make myself a roast beef sandwich. That is until I hear Shea’s whiny voice mention Lachlan. Then I stop what I’m doing and listen.
“I can’t believe he’s seriously going to raise someone else’s child,” she says in her heavy Irish accent. Why does she have to have such a beautiful accent just to spew such nasty words?
“He’s always wanted a house full of children,” another woman adds. It sounds like Riley, but I could be wrong.
“Yeah, of his own kids,” Shea volleys back, disgust evident in her tone. “What is she, like forty? She’s not having any more kids. They’ll never last,” she hisses. “Lach and I are meant to be together, and once he learns we’re on the same page, he’s going to drop her like a bad habit.”
“So, you’ve changed your mind?” a different woman asks.
“I didn’t really think it was that important to him…”
“But have you changed your mind?” the same woman repeats.
“Lachlan will—” Shea’s sentence stops abruptly. There’s a quiet moment, and then she says, “Oh, Evelyn, you’re back! Where were you?” I almost vomit at how different her tone is. What a fake bitch.
“With us leaving right after the wedding, I wanted to visit my garden one last time,” Evelyn says sweetly. “What were you ladies talking about? I thought I heard Lachlan’s name.”
“We were just talking about how good Lachlan is with his nieces and nephews,” Shea says, her voice so saccharine, I’m going to get a toothache just from listening to her speak.
“He was definitely meant to be a family man,” Evelyn says, motherly pride and fondness for her son in her tone.
“I bet you can’t wait to one day be a grandmother,” another woman says, but I’m not sure who it is.
“Oh, yes,” she gushes. “I can’t wait to have my own grandbaby to spoil.”
My heart drops at her last word: grandbaby. She wants a grandbaby, and Lachlan wants his own children. He’s meant to be a family man.
Having lost my appetite, and not wanting to hear another word, I drop my food into the trash, grab a bottle of water, and go back upstairs. I grab my iPad to read, but the idea of reading about someone else getting their happily ever after makes me feel that much worse.
As I cuddle into my blankets, I think about everything Lachlan has done to make my life better, everything he’s given me, and the whole time, I didn’t stop to think about his life. What his needs and wants are. Shea insinuated they broke up because she wasn’t ready for a family, and it makes sense because Lachlan is a natural born father. He’s amazing with Kinsley. While I don’t think he’ll end up with Shea, she still makes a valid point. I am turning forty. It took me nearly four years to get pregnant with Kinsley, and I was younger. The odds of me getting pregnant go down every year, and then there are the risk factors that increase the older the woman gets.